July 8, 2002	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 26,1423

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ISLAMABAD, July 7: The Utility Stores Corporation (USC), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, has become prone to be wound up owing to fast falling financial position after defaulting on huge amounts of bank’s and development financial institutions (DFIs), inside sources said.

It has been alleged that certain elements are deliberately pushing the USC towards closure by putting the prices of many commodities higher than the ones prevalent in local market, and hence it is loosing buyers fast.

The quality of the commodities available on the stores, which are facing shortage of staff, is also declining owing to favouritism in purchases and poor supervision in operations.

Commerce Minister Abdur Razaq Dawood has reportedly summoned USC Managing Director Brig Hafeez Ahmed (Rtd) in his office to explain the reasons of decline in the corporation’s performance and taking a future course of action.

The managing director, according to official sources, would also be explaining to the minister reasons for delay in the closure of another 100 non-profitable stores in the country, which he had ordered a few months ago.

But Mr Hafeez, when contacted, told Dawn the impression that the corporation was running in loss or being wound up was incorrect. The USC owed Rs600 million to banks/DFIs, but they were old debts for which “we are negotiating with the government.”

He refuted that he was summoned by the minister as, he added, Mr Dawood was in Lahore right then. He attributed the accumulated bank debts to bungling in sugar purchase four or five years back.

He also spurned accusations of nepotism on account of recruitments from his hometown or of awarding purchase-contracts to any of his relatives.

The effort to run the USC through a retired military officer, who immediately after the take over had fired about 1,000 permanent employees without even giving a chance for improvement, has failed as the new management recruits hundreds of employees on daily wages neglecting the merit policy.

The corporation, which was running over 800 fair-price shops in the country, has cut the number to 370 outlets; another 100 of them were about to be closed shortly, official sources said.

The National Bank of Pakistan and Habib Bank limited that extended huge loans to the USC, had already attached the real estate property including the head-office building of the corporation against their loans, the sources said, and the managing director confirmed to Dawn.

USC managing director alleged that a spat of disinformation was unleashed against the corporation by a former manager who had been fired by him on certain charges recently.